Kal briskly walked the halls to his cabin, after hearing the announcement from Zero his fears were confirmed that something happened. Ryoko had better not be hurt, if she was there would be hell to pay to whomever hurt her.

Kal would personally enjoy making such a person suffer greatly.

When they reached his quarters nothing looked out of the ordinary, though looks have been known to be deceiving...he cocked his Shattergun and raised his left arm, extending the twin vicious looking Vibroblades. He then entered with his sidearm raised. "Ryoko?" he called, no answer. "Ryoko!", still no answer.

A low beeping sound stopped Kal dead in his tracks. He slowly turned to the wall monitor and saw a recent recording ready to play. As he played the recording a wave of anger passed over him.

The image of Jason Solomon appeared on the monitor. "Hello Kal, by the time you hear this I will be long gone...me and your whore here." he said as he grabbed Ryoko's head and rammed her face into the monitor, bruises adorned her face as well as a trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth. "I know you'll be furious that I've taken your lover, but it was the only solution to bring an end to her control over you. You lost sight in your job, you grew weak, and since you announced to me and the rest of the Marines that you two were going to get married my faith in you died."

Kal's fist was clenched, but he stood silent in his armor and helmet, never wavering.

Solomon walked off with the unconscious Ryoko and he could be heard talking to someone in the background. When he returned he resumed his speech, "When she interfered in my attempt to kill you on Tatooine...well I couldn't let that go unpunished...but I never expected her to survive that shot in the back..." Solomon smiled, "Anyways, I will not kill her immediately, it would ruin the fun. I have to be going, and you claim to be a great warrior...come and find me." as the screen faded to black.

Kal rammed his blades into the table beside him and started uttering a string of curses in Mando'a, oblivious to the fact that Zero was watching._________________

Zero ran quickly, pushing his enhancements to as his processor's boosted his normal running speed to five times it's maximum, sensors working at peak efficiency so he could easily avoid the traffic of the corridors. He could see Skirata ahead, raising his Shattergun and priming some kind of bladed weapon on a gauntlet as the Admiral entered the room. Zero slowed to a stop and brought his weapons systems online. The twin heavy blasters on his wrists sprang to life, moving from their idle position and following Zero's eyes as he walked into the room slowly, scanning for potential targets.

He watched with morbid interest as the recording played. To see the brutality that this man exhibited on the woman was infuriating. He didn't know who she was, but the sense of honor that were instilled upon him by both the classes he had to endure to earn Scyntor's approval; coupled with his admiration of Skirata brought a feeling of rage into Zero at the sight before him.

Clenching his fist, he watched as Skirata pounded his blades into the monitor at the end of the recording. Zero knew he had nothing but the Empire, his only home and family. Skirata, however, seemed to have something equally as important in this woman. Walking slowly up to the Admiral, he reached out a red and white gauntlet covered hand and placed it on the cursing Mando'ad's armored shoulder. " You promised to help me find what I had lost so long ago. I swear to you I will help you find her and bring her back."_________________Field Marshal Zero
Mobile Forces Adviser to Colonel-General Scyntor

<Rank image pending...>

Scyntor: Oh and this is my new best friend Zero...no...noooo...don't point the big experimental plasma weapon at the nice rebel leader...

The words that Zero offered were of little comfort, Skirata was just stabbed in the back by a man he would have gone so far as to consider a brother, and for the second time he had lost Ryoko.

"Be ready to make good on that promise, we're going after the traitor and rescuing my fiancée." He said calmly as he strode over to the wall mounted comm, he keyed the shipwide frequency, "All Marine personnel are to assemble in armory 12-B immediately."

Kal had hoped it would never come to this, he was about to launch an operation to take out one of his own men, one of his best...a man he would even say was his equal, not only in command ability but combat skill as well. Taking Solomon out wouldn't be easy, but he knew him well enough to have a rough idea of where to find him. He turned to Zero and motioned for his attention with a hand, "You might want to get your forces ready, we're not taking prisoners."

He then left the cabin behind, bound for the armory to prepare for war._________________

Zero watched Skirata as he left, sensing that the man's anger was going to be a force to be reckoned with on this venture. There would be no room for mistakes. He knew he needed to give everything he had to this search. Skirata was right in one aspect. There would be no prisoners. Traitors whom kidnapped an innocent civilian would not be forgiven. Not by Zero. Not by his Stormtroopers. There would be no mercy, no quarter given. Narrowing his eyes, Zero activated the comm systems of his helm, opening a channel to the squad commanders of th Genesis' Stormtroopers.

" All squad leaders, this is General Zero. All squads are to remain on Code Red status. Available squads are to report to Armory 12 A for full combat loadouts. All squads on Security will operate double shifts until further notice. I want all landing and boarding squads to be combat status immediately. That is all for now." Turning the comm off, he headed for the armory that Skirata had headed to.

Stepping off the lift, Zero spotted Skirata and walked up to him, nodding slightly. Looking around the room, he let the CPUs sensors work with his eyes, scanning and storing information for each weapon in the room. Looking at the Marines, Zero was unsure if they would take kindly to the General of the Stormtroopers' presence. " Admiral, if I may make a suggestion. It might be prudent to have Battle Groups Theta and Landing group Delta rendezvous with us."_________________Field Marshal Zero
Mobile Forces Adviser to Colonel-General Scyntor

<Rank image pending...>

Scyntor: Oh and this is my new best friend Zero...no...noooo...don't point the big experimental plasma weapon at the nice rebel leader...

Skirata had trouble containing the rage that consumed him, outwardly he appeared fine, but inside he was a thunderous storm of hate. The one singular thought on his mind was getting Ryoko back and making Solomon pay. "Excellent Zero, prepare your Stormtroopers with all their weapons of war. I will address the fleet after I brief my own troops."

He then entered the armory where his Marines stood, some in fatigues, some in their battle armor, he looked them each in the eyes and took a breath. "A tragedy has occurred this day my warriors, one of our own, Sergeant Major Solomon has turned his back on the Empire as well as us and turned traitor. He's also kidnapped my fiancée Ryoko. I intend to get her back and bring him to justice to face punishment for his actions."

Many of his troops remained firm, some had looks of shock on their faces, some of anger. One of the most important things in the life and beliefs of Mandalorians was their sense of family and loyalty to their fellow brothers and sisters, not only that, but as warriors of the Empire we had an obligation to serve and protect it. Solomon had spat on both parts equally.

Kal removed his helmet and looked around seeing the hundreds of full body armors and wide assortments of weapons lining the armory's lockers along with inspirational posters and writings that adorned the walls, "I remember when this all started, almost twenty years ago I asked permission from the Naval Command to begin training of a new special forces unit, one suited not only for commando warfare, but for the more volatile and sensitive black ops missions. I still remember the skepticism I was met with as well...but here we are, the culmination of not only my efforts, but yours as well. You are among greatest warriors ever to serve the Empire, and some of the best to bear the name Mando'ad. You have all made me proud."

"We all took an oath when we put these uniforms on, we made a vow to protect the Empire with our very lives if the need arose...some of our comrades along the way turned traitor..." Kal remembered a trial in the year before that he declined attending despite a request made by Ams Jendob, it was for a man called Antilles if he remembered correctly.
Despite not knowing him Kal didn't care for the man, from what he knew this Antilles was a traitor to the Empire, and a traitor should get exactly what a traitor deserves; a slow painful death in the cold vacuum of space. "...others simply left after losing faith in the government, but we stayed. We stayed because we felt that there was something here, something that could evolve into greatness if cared for properly. In the old days there were problems, bad leadership, poor management, poor strategy, I could go on. But now this Empire has grown into something greater, something I myself can I say I'm proud to serve and fight for."

"Sergeant Solomon however...doesn't share this view apparently. He left a video recording in my cabin before he left with my fiancée," Kal leaned over to the wall monitor and pressed a series of buttons, moments later the recording that he and Zero had seen previously played for his two thousand Marines.

Now I find out what I need to know, he thought.

After it was done he resumed speaking, "He calls me a traitor, a weak leader...I leave the question to you, what say you Marines?"
One man spoke up, "Sir...I think I speak for all of us grunts when I ask why we're standing around here when that traitor is out there? I think we all want a piece of him, so let's go get him."

Kal smiled at the man, "Good to know that you're all still with me, all right here's the game plan. I have reason to believe he'll head to the planet Mandalore. Weeks ago I, along with him and the rest of Zerek squad had worked on plans to go there to collect some of the ore on the world to craft new armor for us to use."

"A suspicion Kal?" one of the other Marines from Zerek Squad, Melissa McKay asked.
"Well there's my suspicion, and this" as he punched in a series of keys on the monitor and the image distorted revealing a familiar numeric code, "coordinates, for Mandalore. Prep your gear, we move out in one hour. Oh and Corporal Johnson, since you're next in line for command of Zerek I think you'll fit the role pretty well. Congratulations, Sergeant." Though he did in fact earn the promotion, Kal doubted that Sergeant Johnson felt that way. Skirata then left the armory to meet up with Zero, wondering what he was telling his own men.

Sorry Cray, needed an example of a traitor that wasn't Jason and Nevin was the only one that readily came to mind. If you want I'll remove it and find another name._________________

Stormtroopers. The elite shock troops of the Empire. Clad in pristine, white, impact resistant armor. They were the pride of the Imperial Armed Forces. Thousands stood before him in perfect files. Standing at complete attention, they gazed at Zero from behind the lifeless visors of their helmets. Unwavering obedience. Boundless courage. These were the men that he would lead from now on. He would need every ounce of their strength, as much as they needed him and his guidance. Soon, his leadership would be put to the test. As would their strength.

" Stormtroopers. My name is Zero. I am your new general. I know that none of you had met me. I assure you, that will not be a factor of importance. Colonel-General Scyntor has placed me in command of Stormtrooper Forces for Strike Force Omega. None of this... and I mean none of this, is relevant at the time.' There was no murmur of disapproval, no shift in position. The Stormtroopers remained at attention and completely silent. There was no dissention among the ranks. They would remain loyal to their General until the end.

" An innocent civilian, the fiance of Admiral Skirata, has been kidnapped from this vessel. The men who did this, were traitors to the Empire. Sick, filthy beasts, who have turned their backs on all of the ideals that make us what we are. They are no longer men!" Zero's emerald eyes burned with fury, the hatred at the traitors seemed to radiate off of his red and white armor. " They are now beasts! Untamed! Uncivilized! We will not turn a blind eye to cruelty of innocents! We will not show mercy to traitors!"

His four foot length of blond hair seemed to flutter in a non existent breeze, face contorted in a passionate grimace of disgust at the actions of Solomon and his traitors. " We will be working with Admiral Skirata and his Marines! Together, we will hunt down these beasts and erase them from existence. We are the elite! We stand tall above the pantheons of the Imperial Army! We will not relent in our pursuit of destruction! These traitors of the Empire will soon know the terrible truth that awaits them! We are the Stormtroopers! And we will bring Hell to these pigs! Arm up!"

Thousands of Stormtroopers saluted in unison; and Zero returned in kind. Watching them disperse, he clenched his fists in rage. His words would be shown true. He would not allow any innocents to be harmed; and all traitors brought to swift, merciless justice._________________Field Marshal Zero
Mobile Forces Adviser to Colonel-General Scyntor

<Rank image pending...>

Scyntor: Oh and this is my new best friend Zero...no...noooo...don't point the big experimental plasma weapon at the nice rebel leader...

As Zero left his armory he was met by Kal, "Good speech, riles up the troops. I have one request though, that I be the one to take Solomon out. He was one of my own, it's my responsibility."

He took a long hard look at the Stormtroopers in that armory behind him, same old buckets he thought, he started off towards the bridge. "Zero, have your troops transfer over to the Gauntlet cruiser Perdition, where we're going the Genesis will be too big of a target and would easily give us away. A little surprise can go a long way in a situation such as this. In my announcement on the bridge I'll detail what other ships will follow us so you can make the necessary preparations."_________________

" I have no qualms with your request, Admiral." Zero walked next to Skirata, the difference in size and armor made them an unusual pair. " As long as you have no qualms with me destroying as many of the other traitorous bastards as my heart contents, you may do whatever you wish to Solomon. This will be quite interesting, to see what wrath our two forces will bring. Perhaps i will be able to scan some new tactics into my data banks during this fight." He looked up at Skirata, trying to judge how level headed the man was at the moment. He wasn't expecting perfect calmness, but he was hoping he wouldn't let anger override reason at a time like this.

" As we speak, I'm sending the order for troop transferral. I could simply transfer orders to the contingent of Stormtroopers on the Perdition... but, this is a personal matter for these men. They too long to seek revenge for the injustice that occurred on their watch. Where....are we going, exactly?"_________________Field Marshal Zero
Mobile Forces Adviser to Colonel-General Scyntor

<Rank image pending...>

Scyntor: Oh and this is my new best friend Zero...no...noooo...don't point the big experimental plasma weapon at the nice rebel leader...

Kal stayed calm in his voice, retaining some control over his emotions, "It will be interesting to see what will happen when we engage them. Stay vigilant however, Solomon was one of my best, he wouldn't dare us to come after him unless he was fairly sure he had a chance of winning. This tells me that he has a backer of some sort...it could be the Rebels, could be someone else, we won't know until we pry the information from him or one of his lackeys."

He paused as they entered a lift that would take them to the bridge, "Where are we going you ask? To Mandalore." he said as the lift doors closed._________________

Zero's eyes widened slightly, in complete surprise of Skirata's answer. " Mandalore? You think he will run there?" He chewed his bottom lip thoughtfully, processing the information in his cybernetically enhanced mind. " I see...I think. If his movements are so easy to find, then he definitely wants you to arrive there, Admiral. The Perdition and the rest of the forces that we have requested will arrive soon. It is fortunate that we are so close to Carida. As soon as they arrive, my men shall transfer to the Perdition."

The lift slowed to a stop and Zero stepped out, eyes straight ahead as he spoke to Skirata. " Admiral, if we know that we are heading into a possible trap, perhaps we should make ourselves appear as such?"_________________Field Marshal Zero
Mobile Forces Adviser to Colonel-General Scyntor

<Rank image pending...>

Scyntor: Oh and this is my new best friend Zero...no...noooo...don't point the big experimental plasma weapon at the nice rebel leader...

Standing near the command room of the bridge, Alex spoke in hushed tones to Captain Marsau, one of his subordinates who he had assigned to further interrogate the prisoner. So far they had gotten nothing out of her, even when Alex tried. And he even had to take a shower to wash the blood off of him after that session. She deserved worse, and would get it. By the time she was transfered to a main holding complex, she would be unrecognizable. The death of his men was unforgivable.

Nodding to Marsau, he said, "Go make your report to the High Command, and then get back to your post." But even though the man was wearing full Assault armor, Alex could tell through the subtle shifts of his body, and head that he was troubled by something. "Something wrong, Captain?"

"Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Go ahead," responded Alex, raising an eyebrow.

"Should we be interrogating her like this? There are set standards we have to follow when.."

"She is an enemy of the Empire, and responsible for the death of our brothers. The correct procedures do not apply to Intelligence. Not with such a valuable information asset like this. If that's all, Captain.." Alex knew the man wanted to say more, but his tone left no room for argument. He wasn't in the mood for it right now.

Watching the Captain leave the bridge, Alex made his way to the bridge viewports, and stared out at the massive shipyards in orbit above the planet. He hated being here. He wanted to be back where his men had died, avenging their deaths, and raining fire down upon the entire planet. He knew his anger was unprofessional, and unbecoming of an officer of his rank, but he couldn't help it. Trying to push the thoughts of battle, and torture to the back of his head, he continued staring out the viewports, occupying himself by watching the various ships come and go._________________

Kal briskly walked onto the bridge, having cooled his own temper to the point where his anger was barely noticeable he issued a few orders before he briefed the bridge crew on the situation. "Helm, make ready a course for Carida to rejoin the rest of the strike force. Launch bay, I want you ready to ferry a few thousand troops off to the Gauntlet Perdition when we arrive."

He walked along the narrow walkway to the front of the bridge, watching the officers as they worked. He stopped at the main viewport and took a long look at the void ahead before he continued and keyed in the shipwide comm, "May I have your attention please, an unexpected situation has arisen and I will be splitting the strike force up to counter it. When we arrive at Carida the Marines, myself and Zero's selected Stormtroopers will transfer over to the Perdition and take a small number of ships to pursue some traitors. The Genesis will remain at Carida until you hear from General Scyntor or myself in regards to further orders. That is all."
Skirata turned back to the window as the ship started to move, standing utterly silent as he watched the cold void of space.

Zero followed Skirata purposefully onto the bridge. Standing aside from him, Zero watched the bridge quietly. He almost felt smaller than he was, around so many unfamiliar faces. It was different to stand amongst Stormtroopers, they were his men, despite the fact that they were all taller than him. Now, amongst the people on the bridge of the Genesis, he felt his five foot height, even clad in it's advanced armor, was not enough to match the others surrounding him. Especially Skirata... Straightening his posture, he looked around the bridge through his emerald eyes.

There was a solemn looking man that he had not seen before staring through one of the viewports. Capturing the image of the man in his processors' CPU, he ran a cross reference of Imperial personnel. the man did not have a match in his databanks. Frowning at the thought that there was someone on the bridge that he could not identify, Zero followed Skirata to the main viewport and gestured for the Admiral's attention. " Admiral, that man at the viewport over there, I have no information on him in my personnel files. Who is he?"_________________Field Marshal Zero
Mobile Forces Adviser to Colonel-General Scyntor

<Rank image pending...>

Scyntor: Oh and this is my new best friend Zero...no...noooo...don't point the big experimental plasma weapon at the nice rebel leader...

Skirata looked over to Zero, then to the man in question. It was the IntelForce officer, Torr. Kal remembered the discussion in the landing bay, how angry Torr was at the loss of his men. Kal regretted that he couldn't have been down there to assist him.
"Zero that is Colonel Alex Torr, an officer in IntelForce...they're a group that more or less polices the Empire and ensures loyalty..at least, as far as I know. Torr is part of a division that acts more like the Stormtroopers however, shock troops. You two may get along well."

He turned back to the window and muttered under his breathe, "Personally I don't trust them at all Zero..."

He extended his left arm and made a motion for the Colonel to join him and the newly appointed Stormtrooper officer, "Colonel Torr, a moment?"_________________

Alex was still looking out the window when he heard the voice behind him. Turning around, he had a second to glimpse the weird looking individual standing next to the speaker, then snapped a quick salute to Admiral Skirata.

"Sir..."

Torr had almost forgotten that the man was back aboard the Genesis. A sign that his anger was truly getting the best of him. Looking Skirata in the eye, he said, "Certainly." and waited for the Admiral to speak._________________

Zero listened to Skirata carefully, keeping his eyes on the viewport until the Admiral turned and requested Torr's attention. Zero eyed the man with interest. here was someone that he had information on. An entire branch of the Imperial forces that he had no data on for reference. Perhaps it had to do with what Skirata had said. Perhaps there wasn't a reason to trust a department that had the job of policing the Empire. Of course, it didn't seem as if Skirata trusted anyone. At least, if what had happened with Solomon seemed to be the recurring theme whenever he did.

I'll need to gather whatever information on IntelForce that I can by conversing with Torr

Alex eyed the strange looking man for a few short moments before holding out his hand for the man to shake. "It's good to meet you, sir. I'm afraid to say that I've never heard of you, though. Did you go through the academy on Carida?"

Alex watched the man's face for any sign of reaction or lie. However, he wasn't sure he'd see either. He had heard of something happening on Carida from his contacts, but beyond rumor of a disturbance and multiple troopers dead, there wasn't much word on what happened there. Alex knew that Skirata had come from somewhere in that general area from telemetry reports from the Genesis' computer. But it was still a blind assumption.

Keeping a smile on his face, he kept his hand out-stretched, and waited for an answer._________________

Zero stretched out his hand, smiling warmly and shaking Torr's. Zero watched the man's eyes, they seemed quite inquisitive. Perhaps searching for something in his body language. If that was the case, there would be no hints. The CPU's processors kept his body's tell tale giveaways of any deception null. a subconscious routine in his neural responses that made him more efficient. " Actually," Zero said, " it was more of a speed course that I took." As he focused on Torr, his scanners still swept the bridge of the genesis and the rest of the ship through wireless uplinks, monitoring the Stormtrooper movements and tracking the incoming attack force that they would be taking to hunt the traitors.

"Well, sir, the branch I'm currently assigned to is the Assault branch. There are two branches, Assault, and Observ. Assault obviously commences the ground operations. We're Special Forces created to supplement the storm trooper ranks, or conduct missions on our own when called for. Observ... I can't really go into too much detail about them. It's somewhat beyond my pay grade to talk about what they do, but I think Admiral Skirata may have filled you in on their general mission already. I get the feeling he doesn't really trust myself, or my men."

IntelForce: Covert Operations Unit.... Divided Into Two Main Groups....

Assault Branch: Ground Based Operations... Stormtrooper Supplement...

Observe Branch: No Data...

More Input Needed On IntelForce File...

Zero smiled knowingly as the CPU fed the stream of data into his mind. Everything he could get out of Torr would be compounded into a file that would be at his disposal. All he needed to do, was get it out of him. Working with the man would help that, especially if his group was meant to supplement his stormtroopers. " Well, Colonel, I think the universe would be a bit off kilter if everyone started trusting those in Intelligence, yes?" he let out a small chuckle, turning again to Skirata. " Admiral, we should prepare for our departure, the ships will be here before we know it."_________________Field Marshal Zero
Mobile Forces Adviser to Colonel-General Scyntor

<Rank image pending...>

Scyntor: Oh and this is my new best friend Zero...no...noooo...don't point the big experimental plasma weapon at the nice rebel leader...

The Admiral remained silent as the two officers talked with each other as he stared out into the void. He found it soothing, the black of space ever so cold, so silent, isolated.

"Very good Zero, we should be going then." He said calmly as he turned to leave. His destination was first to his quarters to pick up a few of his personal weapons, then to the armory to rally the Marines, then to one of the many shuttlebays to arrange the transfer of the whole of the Corps to the small strike group that was inbound.

Short yes, but I feel that I've been delaying for far too long so this is to jumpstart it again._________________

When the countdown timer reached zero, Kol braced himself against the simulator's acceleration couch. The cockpit lurched, mimicking a high-speed takeoff, and he watched as the walls of the Venator-class Star Destroyer fell away from him. Once he cleared the hangar deck, he brought his craft around in a tight loop that had it going towards the Star Destroyer's aft, where its twin command bridges sat flanking each other. On his sensors he saw the rest of StormHawk Squadron form up on him in Flights, then by wing pairs. Kol checked his weapons and saw that all four of his laser cannons were in the green and his concussion missile launchers were armed and fully loaded. Once he was sure his fighter was in top-fighting condition, he activated his comm to brief the StormHawks.

Below them was the lush green forest moon of Endor, the site where the Empire had changed forever. Perhaps for the better, or for the worse. Kol still hadn't decided. Speaking into his comm, he began to give out orders. "All right, StormHawks; welcome to Endor. The Rebel fleet will be in position in two minutes. You have that long to get into position at the head of the starfighter formation. Break by wing pairs once you reach attack range. Good hunting." He suited words to actions and upped his drives, increasing his speed to roughly three hundred kilometers per second and rocketing forward, with StormHawk Two on his wing. They took up a position right above the ISD-I Terminator. Kol felt a slight pang of sorrow as they floated above the sim ship. Before Endor, he'd served on the Destroyer briefly, and when he'd heard that she had been destroyed at the Battle of Thyferra, short but ferocious as it had been, he'd mounred over her for a few days. Some of his good friends had been on that ship when it went down.

He shook the memories from his head and concentrated on flying. The countdown timer read 0:30 seconds until the Rebel fleet arrived. At 0:10 he brought up his shields and opened a channel to Two. "Two, we'll use our SLAM engines to get a lead on the TIEs. Choose your targets, but don't engage in a dogfight until the TIEs arrive to mix things up. We'll make a strafing run then turn and engage the capital ships with our concussion missiles."

"Two copies, Lead." Two's voice was unmistakably that of a woman;probably from Corellia, judging by her accent. When the countdown timer reached zero, Kol threw his drives forward and flipped up a red-rimmed yellow cover on his control board. He depressed the switch underneath it, and the simulated StarFury shot forward at double its usual maximum speed, nearing six hundred kilometers per second. Through the forward viewport he saw several flashes, which cleared to show about a dozen capital ships and two wings of starfighters. About a fourth of the big ships were of Mon Calamari design, with their fluid curves and bumpy weapon emplacements, while the rest were Corellian corvettes and gunships, as well as some other vessels. Complementing the capital ships were about two dozen egg-shaped Gallofree transports, armed with triple laser cannons and sporting what seemed to be concussion missile launchers where their cargo compartments were usually located.

Kol selected one of the transports as his primary target and picked a pair of B-wings as his next one. He armed two concussion missiles and locked onto the transport's stern, waiting until he reached a distance of ten kilometers. When his board announced that he was in range, he depressed two of his secondary triggers and sent the pair of missiles streaking towards their target, trailing rapidly-crystallizing exhaust trails. Not waiting to watch them hit, he pushed his rudder over until he was facing the unlucky B-wings, then locked down his primary triggers. Bolts of blue laser fire shot out from around the simulated StarFury’s cockpit, blowing the two bombers away before they knew what had hit them. Kol checked Two’s score and saw that she had done just as well as he had. She’d dropped four concussion missiles into the bulky aft section of a CEC corvette, which was now listing to port and smoking from its cratered engine block.

The Rebel fleet woke up after that. The Star Cruisers began a slow, ponderous lateral turn, while the starfighters peeled off from their attack run on the second Death Star and came looping around to safeguard their capital ships. As some of the smaller, nimbler vessels completed the turn, wave after wave of TIEs rushed out to meet them, swarming them and destroying two in their first attack run. Then the wave split up, devolving into smaller squadron and wing pair based dogfights. Space around the Rebel fleet was now a tangle of explosions and stray laser cannon bolts. “Shift power to your forward shields, Two. It’s going to get messy.”

”I copy, sir.” The pair of starfighters reached the other end of the engagement and their SLAM engines deactivated, resuming their normal output as they looped around for another pass. Kol checked the scoreboard and saw that StormHawk Five was ahead of him by two kills. He grinned slightly. “Oh, that won’t do at all.” He eyed a Nebulon-B frigate that Five and Six were harrying. Its shields fell to their concussion missiles, but after that the frigate’s portside point defense batteries went live, shooting down every missile sent at it and causing Five and his wingmate, a Rodian male nicknamed Tryp, to pull out and go evasive. Kol dropped in behind the frigate’s dark side, running parallel to its starboard side, then broke to port and then starboard, allowing him to loop around to face the Nebulon-B’s tail end. He dropped four concussion missiles into the engines and watched the whole aft section go up. When the flash cleared, the frigate’s batteries had gone silent and fifty percent of the stern was vaporized.

As Two formed up on him, Kol selected a new target. It was a disk-shaped Corellian freighter that was weaving throughout the battle and blasting TIEs with a pair of quad lasers. With a slight smirk, he reengaged the SLAM engines and sped after it._________________Commander Kol Starskimmer, Imperial Starfighter Corps
Strike Force Omega, Stormhawk Squadron

The orders flashed again across Zero's HUD as he reviewed them for the last time. The Genesis and the rest of the strike force exited hyperspace near the planet of Anzat. Neither Scyntor nor Skirata were there, it was left to him to follow through on the orders and lead the strike force in securing the planet for the Empire.

Of course, the hope was that they did not need to lay siege to the planet to convince them to join. A small show of force and skillful negotiations were what Zero hoped would be enough to convince the leaders of the planet that the Empire was the best choice for them to ally with. " Sir, your orders?" Zero turned and looked up at his leading commander for the Stormtroopers. " yes, Major. Have a landing party and three AT-ATs ready to head to the surface. Have a wing of TIEs on standby as well. Remmeber, we don't want any civilian casualties. This is a show of our military, not a war." The major saluted, " Understood, Field Marshall."

Zero saluted back and headed for the hangar where his transport waited._________________Field Marshal Zero
Mobile Forces Adviser to Colonel-General Scyntor

<Rank image pending...>

Scyntor: Oh and this is my new best friend Zero...no...noooo...don't point the big experimental plasma weapon at the nice rebel leader...

" Iris! Wait!", he shouted, chasing after the girl for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. It was long after the ceremony to name him the heir apparent to the tribal leadership and Iris wanted them to have some time alone before he would begin his official training the following morning. " Hurry up!", she yelled playfully, dashing up a craggy hillside with ease. " You'll miss the third moonrise if you don't keep up!"

As he reached the top of the hill, he stopped in horror when he saw her frozen in fear, looking up at a group of spindly-limbed, metal-skinned creatures they did not recognize. Shouts and sounds of combat began ringing out from the far off village as one of the creatures raised a black weapon at the girl. " Female is unimportant. Male is best suited for research." A red bolt of light shot from the weapon and struck her in the chest, leaving a sizzling hole.

"IRIS!", he screamed, lunging after the enemy, only to be grabbed by multiple sets of cold, metal hands. " IRIIIIIIS!!!", he continued to scream as he lashed wildly against his captors to no avail. As something sharp pierced the back of his neck, his world began going black. " Subject captured, return to fleet." " Roger, roger." "Incoming orders..."

Zero opened his emerald eyes with a start, sitting upright in his bed. His systems had managed to prevent any physical reactions to the nightmare, such as the typical cold sweat and increased heart-rate, but his mind was still shaken.

Incoming Orders...

Command Code: Scyntor...

Codes Verified....

Standing Orders: Lead fleet at Kuat against terrorist actions towards forces in Imperial held systems...

Zero blinked and acknowledged the orders before standing to get dressed. In the short time it would take him to be ready, the fleet would already be on the move with him in command._________________Field Marshal Zero
Mobile Forces Adviser to Colonel-General Scyntor

<Rank image pending...>

Scyntor: Oh and this is my new best friend Zero...no...noooo...don't point the big experimental plasma weapon at the nice rebel leader...